Heart of the Matter
by haleyb333
Summary: Charlie Herondale doesn't have an easy life being an ill, runeless Shadowhunter, but she likes to think that she's adapted quite nicely. She's fallen into a nice, easy, all too comfortable routine. Her life is so routine that she often wishes for more adventure. It's only when her life begins changing that she finally realizes just how comfortable she was.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi all! Sorry I've been gone for so long, I just got back from camp!**

 **This is the beginning of a what will very, very long adventure with my OCs! Since this is the first chapter, if things get a bit confusing at first, hang on until the end of the chapter, then ask any questions you have that weren't clarified!**

 **I hope you come to love these kids as much as I already do! I feel like they've been with me for a very long time even thought it's been like three weeks! My plan as of now is to use this as an introductory fic and then things will get a bit longer and more complicated with a lot more backstory for them all and so on!**

 **Enjoy, and let me know your thoughts!**

* * *

"Charlie, you shouldn't be doing that!" her little brother, James, yelled up at her from where he was standing on the floor of the training room. Charlie rolled her eyes and continued her work on the rafters. She had quickly found out that working on the rafters was the best way for her to work on her balance, even if it was slightly, terribly dangerous to be doing flips that high up. Especially without a balancing rune. But Charlie also knew that she had to find new and inventive ways to push herself, to make herself better. None of the others had to practice their balancing skills. None of the others had to get by without runes.

As she did another flip, Charlie began smiling. She knew what was coming next before Rafael even began speaking. "Charlotte, listen to your brother and get down here now!" Rafe's voice was final, full of the authority that came with being the oldest out of all of the kids, the only one who was an adult even by Shadowhunter standards. Sometimes Charlie had to admit that Rafe was a lot like Uncle Alec. But admitting that would also mean admitting that Rafael was usually right, that he actually should be listened to, and that wasn't something Charlie was willing to do.

"Fine!" she yelled back at them, the smile stretching even further across her face. Neither James nor Rafe had the time to yell anything else at her before she did a backflip off the rafter. Judging by the looks on their faces when she hit the ground, she knew it had been perfectly executed. They wanted to be angry, but she'd stuck her landing just as well as the rest of them would have, and they both knew they couldn't find any fault in that. She was willing to bet that even Uncle Alec wouldn't be able to find fault any fault in that, and that thought made her even happier.

"That's not what they meant, and you know it." Charlie turned to smile at Max and the fact that his voice was as tender as it always was. "Now take this and go rest for a while; take it easy," Max finished, holding out a bottle of water for her to take. Charlie could never seem to find it in herself to be annoyed with Max. He was always the gentle one, always the one who showed that he cared by actually acting in a caring fashion. So she took the bottle of water, moving to sit on the floor, her back against the wall. She didn't want to admit that her breathing was actually a bit forced, so she looked down at her feet, trying to keep that fact to herself.

They all worried about her, no matter the situation, and if they thought there was any reason to do so, they would go get one of her parents in a matter of seconds. Charlie didn't know much about the specifics, but she did know that she'd been born with something wrong with her heart. That had gone uncorrected for almost a year, and by the time she'd finally turned blue and her parents had called Catarina Loss, the damage had been so severe that Catarina had insisted that the only way to help her was for them to allow mundane doctors to repair her heart surgically. Even after the heart surgery that had left her with a very large scar all the way down her chest, Charlie had ended up with a pacemaker, the damage still too much for her heart to deal with on its own.

So, naturally, the entire group worried about her constantly. When she was training, her brother and her cousins were continually telling her to stop pushing herself so hard, continually asking her to take a break and rest. But she knew the other kids weren't the only ones incessantly trying to make sure she was safe. She'd once heard Uncle Simon telling Sophie to make sure Charlie was okay, telling her what signs to look for that might tell her that Charlie's heart was having trouble. It wasn't that all the care annoyed her exactly; it was simply that Charlie hated being treated as though she was fragile because of her heart. Fragile was the last word she would ever use to describe herself, and she certainly knew when she needed to stop putting so much pressure on her heart.

But Charlie also knew that she had to push herself harder than the rest of them if she wanted to keep up with absolutely any of them. Just before she had turned twelve and was set to begin her training, Catarina had explained that her heart would not be strong enough to take the power of the runes. So it had been decided that, while she could still fight and train, she could never rune herself. Being a Shadowhunter without runes was a terribly hard thing to do, but Charlie generally thought that she did a pretty fine job of it. Even without the runes, she was just as competent of a fighter as any of the others, even if she did tire just a bit quicker.

When they heard the alarm sound, indicating that someone was at the door, Charlie jumped up and dashed out of the training room before anyone else could even so much as move. She knew that none of the parents would move to get the door, that they would expect one of the kids to do so, and she wanted to be the first one to meet their new visitor. They were expecting a Shadowhunter her age, someone who was moving into the Institute for an undetermined amount of time to further their training and learn about the ways in which the Institute ran. She had no idea who it was supposed to be, but she was still terribly excited at the prospect of having a new person in the Institute.

Flinging the door open, Charlie was slightly shocked when the boy standing before her automatically strode past her and into the Institute. He turned to look at her, his startling green eyes taking her in in one swift glance. "Preston Cartwright," he said, his voice firm and authoritative in the way Charlie always attributed to Rafael. "Grab my bags and show me to my room," he finished, and Charlie could only stare at him for several moments. Preston apparently wholeheartedly expected her to carry his bags for him, and she couldn't even begin to fathom why that was.

Before she could so much as stammer through an, "Excuse me?" Preston spoke up again, obviously picking up on the confusion on Charlie's face. "You're the mundane help, correct?" he asked, and Charlie felt anger automatically well up within her. She now wished that she'd let one of the others answer the door, but she also felt the sudden urge to knock this kid off of his feet, just to show him what the "mundane help" could really do to him.

"I suggest you be more careful about who you call the mundane help around here," she responded, trying to fling as much spunk into her words as Sophie might. "My father would not be at all pleased to hear you call his daughter such things." Charlie registered the look on Preston's face with joy; her parents now ran the Institute, and that knowledge combined with her strawberry-blond hair and golden eyes made it almost impossible for someone to not realize that she was a Herondale. She almost laughed when Preston realized how bad his mistake had been, but she also saw how quickly he wiped away his surprise and became arrogant once more.

"You don't have any runes," he said, so matter-of-fact that Charlie wanted to laugh it him. "I simply did not think that a Herondale would be a runeless Shadowhunter. Forgive me for the very logical assumption." It was evident from Preston's tone that he did not actually want to be forgiven for anything. Charlie decided that, no matter what he did, she would never like him. Preston could discover a spell to fix her heart, and Charlie would still wonder what might be in it for this arrogant fool.

"Grab your own bags, Cartwright," she said, turning around and walking away before Preston had even moved for his bags. "You've got a lot to learn if you're actually going to survive around here." As Preston caught up with her, Charlie glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. She was interested to see that Preston looked slightly nervous, and she could tell that he wasn't expecting her to be looking at him in that particular moment. "You're going to have to learn how to deal with eight very different kids with startlingly different personalities. Not to mention our parents." She smiled at the thought of it. No outsiders had ever tried to navigate their family, and she knew she was going to enjoy watching it happen.

"If I've got so much to learn," Preston said after he placed his bags in his room. "Then why don't you teach me about your family." Charlie could tell that he was trying to hide the fact that he was curious because he wanted to know what he was up against. Charlie also knew that she was likely the only one who would so easily see through his façade, that the others would be much more trusting of him in the fact that they would think that the person in front of their eyes was the true Preston, but Charlie was the one who generally picked up on even the most stubble of things.

She moved to take Preston on a tour of the Institute, knowing that he would still get lost dozens of times before he actually began to remember his way. "There's my little brother, James," Charlie began, hoping to summarize each of the kids as best as possible. "Red hair, green eyes, glasses, hard to mix up with anyone else. He's basically the brains of the operation. He'd much rather be studying than fighting, but don't mistake that for inability to fight. He's very lethal when needed, and if you make him angry enough, you'll likely find that out."

Charlie moved to allow Preston to enter the weapons room so that he could familiarize himself with the layout. "As far as the Lovelaces go, George is the oldest. Black hair and black eyes, he's also hard to mix up with any of the others." Charlie shut the door behind her and made her way to the training room, purposely trying to leave the library for last. "He's pretty cheeky and hard to navigate sometimes. He knows who he is and he knows what he wants, and he doesn't let anyone get in the way of that. Oh, and he's a huge flirt, so beware." Charlie smiled as she caught the look on Preston's face. "Don't worry, I'm pretty certain you're not his type. He likes men and women who can hold their own against him, and I highly doubt that you can do so."

As they moved toward the kitchen, Charlie couldn't help but smile at the thought of Preston trying to navigate George, and she knew she couldn't wait to see it happen. "You're likely to get George's sisters mixed up because they're twins, their eyes and hair are brown, but they wear their hair in different ways. And they're complete opposites, so you shouldn't have much trouble with them after even a week here." Most people could tell Sophie and Anna apart just from the way they acted, but Charlie was willing to bet that Preston wouldn't want to waste his time figuring out which one was which.

"Anna is very quiet and gentle. If she's not in the training room, she's most likely in the library reading.  
Charlie could see that Preston relaxed ever so slightly, apparently feeling much better about Anna being gentler than her brother. So, naturally, she had to ruin that for him. "But don't you dare be fooled by any of that; she's extremely fierce. She specializes in throwing knives, and at any given time she has at least eight of them on her person. She's very, very accurate with them, so I wouldn't push her too hard if I were you." Charlie knew that Anna could easily hold her own against Preston, but she also knew that the last thing she wanted was for Anna to get hurt in any way. And if anyone was likely to hurt someone as gentle as Anna, it would be the arrogant jerk beside of her.

"Sophie has spunk that I doubt you've ever encountered before. Even look at her the wrong way and you'll be on the ground before you even know you were looking at her the wrong way." Charlie almost laughed at the thought of it. Sophie's spunk was one of the many reasons she was Charlie's best friend, and she couldn't wait to see it unleashed on Preston. "She may be the youngest, but she's the best fighter of us all, and she knows it, too. If we're on a mission and she tells you to do something, I highly suggest that you do it. Don't ever doubt that she knows what she's doing because you'll likely end up dead if you do so."

They made their way toward the greenhouse, and Charlie's thoughts shifted very fondly toward the rest of her family. She was slightly surprised that Preston hadn't said anything yet, but she kept speaking anyway. "Rafael is the oldest of the Lightwood-Banes, and he's the oldest of us all. You'll know him as soon as you see him just by the authority he commands. He's fairly stoic, so don't ever assume you know what he's feeling or thinking. Rafe is George's parabatai, and they'd honestly do anything for each other." Charlie paused for a second, then amended herself, not wanting Preston to get too comfortable. "Oh, and don't ever call him Rafe. That wouldn't be a good move for an outsider."

Preston simply nodded, and Charlie was surprised to see that she couldn't exactly read his expression. "Then there's Max. He's utterly, terribly gentle, and if you ever need advice on anything, he's the one to go to since he'll be the most understanding. He's a warlock, so he fights with magic, but he mostly just spends his time covering everyone else. He'll probably confuse you the most, though. When he's not glamoured, he's pretty easy to peg. Blue skin, blue hair; but ever make a comment on that and you'll wish you hadn't. He glamours himself to look like his papa, which I trust you know what he looks like."

Charlie was going to continue, but then she sensed that Preston wanted to ask a question. "I do know what his dads look like," Preston responded, his voice careful and thoughtful. "But he has two of them, so you're going to have to be a bit more specific." Charlie couldn't help but laugh at that. She had wondered if Preston would comment on her choice of words, and she was terribly glad that he had. There were a lot of things Preston needed to pick up on, a lot of things he needed to very quickly accustom himself to, and she was glad to put him in his place on that matter.

"I was very specific," Charlie said, turning to finally lead her way back to the library. "Uncle Alec is Max's dad. Uncle Magnus is Max's papa. Like I said, you've got a lot to learn, so I really hope you've been listening." Preston only nodded once, and Charlie moved to the one person she was most worried about Preston being around. "The last of us is Maddie. Uncles Magnus and Alec adopted her, too; she's a werewolf, but she fights with us just the same." Charlie whirled on Preston then, trying to erase any room for his interpretation. "Maddie is a mixture of bookworm and warrior, but if you don't listen to anything else I tell you today, listen to this. If you ever, in any way, yell or become violent in front of her, you will no longer have the number of testicles you currently have. If you're not in a fight with a demon, you do not raise your voice with the people of this Institute."

Eyeing Preston was difficult, but Charlie could see that the tone of her voice had done something, and she hoped he would actually take that seriously. Uncles Magnus and Alec had taken Maddie in when Uncle Luke rescued her from a highly abusive home. Maddie was extremely well adjusted, but yelling and violence not associated with fighting demons put her on edge and was the easiest way to upset her. From a very young age, all of the children had learned to improve their argument instead of raising their voice, and Charlie wanted to be absolutely certain that Preston knew that, too. "If you're not busy after I meet with your parents," Preston said when they stopped in front of the library. "Might I interest you in a picnic in the greenhouse? There was a very gorgeous spot for that very thing."

Charlie couldn't help but laugh. She knew it was slightly rude, but after everything Preston had said before, even the notion of something romantic was absolutely ridiculous. "Are you hitting on me?" she asked, unable to hide her amusement. Preston's expression didn't change, but Charlie couldn't take it any longer. "Just gear up for training when you're done," she said, turning around and trying to keep from running away from him. When she turned the corner back toward her room, her smile widened when she saw James.

"You can't blame him," James said, his voice also full of his own amusement. "I think it was kind of adorable. I mean, it's not his fault he doesn't know you're not into guys." Charlie laughed once more, knowing that James was right, but also knowing how much she disliked Preston purely on principle. "I heard how much of a jerk he is, though, so don't let him down easily, Charlie," James finished in a fashion that was very unlike himself. Usually, James was like Max in the fact that he wanted to do the best for people, that he wanted to treat everyone with kindness. But Charlie could tell by his comment that he had heard Preston calling her the mundane help, and she knew that James was reacting because he wanted to protect her.

"I think I need to take a nap before I try to explain anything else to that idiot," Charlie replied, stopping in front of her bedroom door. James simply nodded and moved to his own room, and Charlie smiled at him one last time before all but flinging herself into her room and onto her bed. Charlie knew she wouldn't actually be able to sleep, but she wanted some peace and quiet for a while so that she could actually think things through. She knew it wouldn't be long before one of her parents came to ask her about Preston, and she also knew it wouldn't be long before her father took Preston into the training room to assess his skills.

Charlie thought very fondly of the fact that Uncle Alec was the one who always tested any of the children. No matter how good of a fighter Preston might be, he was no match for Uncle Alec, and that thrilled her to no end. From some of the looks he had given her, it was obvious that Preston had some prejudices about people who weren't straight, and being severely beaten by Uncle Alec in all of the exercises would do him good. Growing up, absolutely none of the kids had ever once felt any pressure to be straight. Charlie still very affectionately remembered when she had come out to her parents as lesbian. She hadn't been worried about their responses, but it was still very pleasant when they had told her that because they were extremely proud of her that they wanted to get the whole family to go out to dinner that night, just to celebrate her.

When George had come out as bi, he'd done so in front of the whole family, and Charlie had cried with laughter when Sophie got up and held up her hand, saying, "High five, brother, me too!" Rafael and Max had apparently come out by accident, and Charlie still wished that she had been there to see it. They'd been watching a movie together and didn't know that their dads had come in the room when they both said something along the lines of, "He's hot," almost simultaneously. When their dads had leaned over the back of the couch with a question in their eyes, they'd laughed as they explained that Max was gay and Rafe was ace and identified as biromantic. Charlie had always been happy that all of their coming outs had been a far cry from the stories they'd heard about various mundanes coming out.

Lying in her bed, Charlie couldn't help but smile to herself at that thought. Her family had always been far more accepting than any other family she had ever heard of, and that made her extremely proud of her parents. They had fought for so many things, and the thought that they still fought every day to give their kids the lives they had always wanted made her extremely happy. The only thing that ever worried her was how the outside world would react to them all. She never truly cared what others thought of her, the approval of her family was the only approval that would ever mean anything to her. But she knew that others were rarely so accepting, and the protective side of her wanted to keep her cousins as safe as possible. She idly wondered how Preston might react to any of them, the look he'd given her when she spoke of George still etched in her mind. But she shoved that thought away for the moment, knowing that her parents would quickly take care of any problem that might arise.

Sighing from contentment, Charlie swung herself out of bed, moving to spend the rest of her time waiting working on Sophie and Anna's birthday presents. James's birthday had been two days ago, so that meant theirs was only eight days away. She wasn't very good at shopping for presents, so she generally tried to make them instead, figuring those things would mean more than anything she could buy. As soon as Charlie became mildly annoyed at the work she was doing, she headed off to the training room, trying to ignore how much harder it was to breathe at the moment.


	2. Chapter 2

The last thing Rafael wanted to do was to start welcoming new people into the Institute. Preston Cartwright's arrival was only the beginning. In just under a month they would begin welcoming in several more young Shadowhunters who would be there for three or four months, depending on how well they worked with everyone involved. The program was just beginning, but the plan was that a group of young Shadowhunters would travel to three or four different Institutes over the course of the year, learning new things in each place. They were set to start out their training when the new year began, and Rafael wasn't looking forward to it in any way.

What Rafael was looking forward to was watching Preston take on his dad. Although he'd never met Preston, he'd heard a lot about him, and Rafael didn't need to meet him to understand that he was one of the biggest jerks of their generation. Rafael smiled at the thought of how hard Preston would find it to compete with his dad, stacking up his paperwork as he did so. As the oldest of the kids, Rafael had many more responsibilities, and his fathers had put him in charge of the new program for however long it would last at their Institute. With such little time left until they arrived, Rafael had spent the majority of his time split between training and paperwork.

Rafael didn't exactly mind the paperwork, or all the extra responsibility that he now had. He liked staying busy, having free time to think was what caused him trouble, and right now he was in trouble because he had almost an hour until Preston's assessment would begin. Instead of heading toward his own room, he turned toward George's, knowing that he was much better off having some company for the remaining hour. "Why do mundanes insist on thinking that magic can only be harnessed through inanimate objects?" George asked as soon as Rafael walked through the door. Rafael smiled when he saw the copy of _Harry Potter_ that George was holding. "What makes the wands so special? Also, can you ask Max if he can make me a wand because I'm only ninety-five percent sure magic doesn't work that way, so I figured it never hurts to ask."

Sitting down on George's bed, Rafael idly wondered how long George had been waiting to ask these questions. Without another word, George sat his book down, waiting patiently for Rafael to begin talking. Before becoming George's parabatai, Rafael had often wondered how his dad and Uncle Jace could simply look at one another and have an entire conversation without a word. But now being tuned in to George's every mood was such a natural part of him that he often wondered how he had lived without it. Sometimes having someone who was so connected to you was a pain, but more often than not, it was as easy as breathing to Rafael, sometimes easier. "Did you ever ask your dad about Jon Cartwright?" Rafael asked, searching George's face for anything he might be able to pick up on.

"Yeah, he was pretty closed off about it all," George said, the tone of his voice telling Rafael what he was thinking even before he said it. "I think it had more to do with Uncle George than with Jon, though. He said that Jon was always a bit arrogant, but never really a true enemy; he always seemed quite harmless. Then he said something about Jon going to Uncle George's funeral and that was the end of that conversation. I was too scared to try to pry any further into it." Rafael couldn't blame him for that one. He'd rarely ever seen Uncle Simon closed off or reserved, but when he talked about Uncle George, it was like he was as far away from them as he could possibly be.

Rafael was quiet for several long moments, trying to pin down exactly what he needed to know about the situation. "Stop overthinking," George said, perfectly tuning in to Rafael's thoughts. "Everything is going to be fine. I know you. You overthink everything for no reason. I also know that once you meet Preston you're going to have him profiled so quickly you'll end up knowing more about him than he knows about himself." Rafael tried to flash a weak smile at that. For some reason, Rafael had always been able to pick up on even the most stubble things about people. It was part of the reason he had trusted his dad the first time they had met; he'd picked up on just how genuinely kind his dad was. "Rafe," George said, his voice suddenly softer. "Just relax for a bit. Then we can go enjoy watching your dad absolutely destroy Preston."

After several more seconds, Rafael finally leaned back on the bed, closing his eyes and trying his hardest to clear his mind. He smiled when George began reading parts of his book, asking Rafael pointless questions about it. He'd often heard his dad say that having Uncle Jace be so in tune to him was annoying, but Rafael had never felt that way about George. The only person who was ever able to clear his mind was George, even if it was with random, stupid questions about mundanes's ideas of magic. "Why do they have to make up so many mythical creatures, too?" George asked. "What on earth is a hippogriff supposed to be? They just mashed up a bunch of real creatures into one. It's worse than a platypus. And why couldn't they just use things that are actually somehow possible? Why do mundanes with the Sight never write books? Those would be enjoyable books full of educational information."

Rafael couldn't help but laugh at that, but it didn't seem to do anything to lift his mood. He knew George was trying, but that didn't change how anxious he was. Looking down at his phone, Rafael realized with some relief that it was finally time for Preston's evaluation. George followed him down the hall without another word, and Rafael hated to admit how relieved that made him. As soon as they walked into the training room, Rafael picked up on the fact that Preston was terribly nervous. Rafael almost smiled when he realized that Preston was not half as nervous as he should have been, not when it came to competing with his dad. Uncle Jace flashed them a smile that said he was simply waiting for the fun to begin, and his dad sent him a look that said Preston was most certainly about to get what was coming for him.

"I have no idea who came up with using a competition to assess children," Uncle Jace started as soon as he realized that everyone was there. "Because it genuinely sounds like something I would do, but I'm going to say good luck to you anyway. You'll need it." Uncle Jace's smile was his typically mischievous one, and Rafael wasn't the least bit surprised about that. For some unknown reason, the Clave thought that they should assess students by pitting them against fully trained Shadowhunters, as if to show how much improvement would be needed to fulfill their training. It had sort of been a unanimous decision that his dad would be the one to "compete" with Preston based on the simple fact that Preston's weapon was the bow and arrow. Uncle Jace was a pretty good shot, but it seemed like no one compared to his father. And Rafael couldn't wait to watch Preston struggle to compensate for that.

They'd decided to start with Preston's assessment of his bow and arrow skills, and Rafael smiled at just how relaxed his father was. Especially when he compared it to just how nervous Preston seemed to be. It wasn't obvious at first, and Rafael doubted that the others would really notice it, but he could see it in the way Preston was fidgeting with his own bow, the way Preston kept looking around at all of them. As Preston got ready to shoot his first arrow, Rafael watched him with scrutiny, analyzing every little piece of his technique. This was much easier for Rafael than he would have thought possible; the bow and arrow was also his weapon, and having his father teach him to shoot meant he was much more experienced with it than most his age.

Preston's first arrow wasn't exactly a terrible shot, but Preston looked much happier about it than he should have. It had taken him several long seconds to actually shoot the arrow once he'd loaded it, and Rafael could see the specific places he had trouble with his technique. The arrow hit just outside of the bullseye, which, Rafael had to admit, was pretty great for being all the way across the training room, and Preston visibly relaxed after that. But Rafael still smiled as he waited for his father to shoot his first arrow. Without looking, Alec lazily raised his bow and shot the arrow, not even pausing to aim, never so much as glancing toward the target. The arrow hit the bullseye almost effortlessly, and Rafael knew that if someone was to find the desire to measure it that they would find the arrow in the exact center of the bullseye.

Rafael tried to hide his smile when he saw Preston's eyes widen when he realized just what Alec had done. After that, Rafael moved to rest against the wall, idly watching Preston's every move, squeezing out every bit of information about the boy that he could. It was very clear that Preston didn't actually want to be there, and Rafael idly wondered if Jon was the one who forced it on Preston. The only problem was that he couldn't figure out exactly why Jon would have wanted to place his son in the New York Institute, so Rafael let that thought go for the moment.

Watching his father go through the motions of "competing" with Preston was terribly satisfying, but Rafael could also tell that his father wasn't exactly completely relaxed. Alec seemed distracted, even if it was very slightly, but Rafael knew that even if he asked, his father would simply tell him that everything was fine and to stop worrying. So Rafael shoved that thought aside as best he could, sharing a very meaningful glance with his parabatai as George came to stand beside of him. "Just like we thought, huh?" he asked, his voice dripping with amusement. Rafael only nodded, knowing that was enough, hoping that this would teach Preston some kind of lesson.

* * *

As soon as Rafael woke up from his dream, he knew he'd been screaming because of it. Mostly because Max was sitting on the edge of his bed, looking down at him with desperate eyes, as though he was unable to decide what to do to help his brother. No matter how often he had nightmares, Max would always come to him after one, comforting his older brother without ever being asked to do so. Rafael felt slightly embarrassed about the fact that he still had nightmares. But the one person who never seemed to judge him about them was Max. Of course, his dads understood why he still had them, but Max had always been so terribly gentle and understanding that Rafael had quickly grown to prefer having his brother by his side when he had a nightmare.

"What was this one about?" Max asked as he motioned for Rafael to scoot over. Rafael sat up and moved over enough for Max to actually sit down on the bed. Just like he did every single time, Rafael momentarily considered lying to Max, making the nightmare seem much better than it had actually been. But even if Max wouldn't have seen through it, Rafael knew that he simply could not bring himself to lie to his brother. Not when Max was so supportive, not when Max was always so remarkably gentle. "You know you can talk to me, Rafe," Max said, obviously mistaking Rafael's hesitance for fear of opening up.

"I know that, Blueberry," Rafael responded, taking a deep breath when he realized that his breathing was still uneven. "It really wasn't as bad as it probably seems it was," he continued, trying his hardest to at least downplay his nightmare, hoping that Max wouldn't pry too hard. What Rafael really wanted was to redirect the conversation. Talking to Max about literally anything other than his nightmare would help him much more in the end. Distracting himself was always the best way to move on for his nightmares and his worries. "You and I both know I'm a bit of a wimp," Rafael finished, trying to play it off as a joke.

Max immediately began shaking his head. "You're anything but a wimp," he said, his voice so final that Rafael couldn't help but smile at it. "I'm not sure I could handle having nightmares the way you do," Max said, moving to light up the room ever so slightly, soft light emitting from his hands that was just enough for them to see each other without waking them up. "Don't try to change the subject, though. I know you, Rafe. If you don't want to talk about your nightmare, then just tell me that, you know you can be honest with me." Rafael smiled at that, moving to rest his head on Max's shoulder. Sometimes Max was terribly like their dad in the way that he wanted everyone to be completely honest with him at all times.

Rafael took several more deep breaths, trying to steady his heartbeat, focusing on the feeling of Max beside of him, of the reality in having his brother there for him. "It was about George this time," Rafael finally replied, feeling his chest tighten just at the thought of the nightmare he'd had. "I couldn't save him," was the only thing he could bring himself to say about it, but it seemed to be enough for Max. The last thing Rafael wanted was pity, and that always seemed to be the last thing Max would feel for him, no matter how bad the nightmares became or how often he would have them.

For as long as Rafael could remember, he'd been having nightmares that seemed all too real to him. When he was living on the streets in Buenos Aries, he had nightmares about his biological parents and what had happened to them. As soon as he'd been adopted by his dads, Rafael had begun having nightmares about losing them or about them abandoning him. His nightmares seemed to evolve as his life changed around him, growing to include Max and even George and the rest of his cousins. More often than not, they were so bad that he would wake up everyone around him from his screams, waking up drenched in sweat, his heartrate climbing ever higher.

"George is fine, Rafe," Max finally said, his voice distant in a way that told Rafael he was thinking. "What's it like to have a parabatai bond?" Max asked after several loaded seconds of silence. Rafael knew that Max had always idly wished of having a parabatai of his own, and Rafael couldn't blame him for it. If he'd been in Max's situation, he would have most likely been very upset that he had to sit by and watch his family form these bonds without ever having the chance to do so himself. Rafael welcomed the distraction from his nightmares, the struggle to describe the indescribable very appealing to him.

"It's like having yourself literally tied to someone," Rafael began, closing his eyes in a sort of concentration, trying to feel his way to the right words. "You can feel the string that ties you in their every move. It's like knowing that string is one of the only things keeping grounded. You can feel both their mental and physical states through it, but, no matter how hard you try, you can never do anything about either of those without actually being there." Rafael took another deep breath, enjoying the feeling of having the memory of the nightmare slowly wash away from him. "It's like having a piece of your soul broken off and tied to you."

Max was so silent that Rafael first thought he'd fallen asleep, but the light was still emitting from his fingertips, so Rafael knew he had to be awake. "I'm glad you have George," he said at last, his voice carefully guarded in a way Rafael had rarely heard it. At that, there was a flood of things that Rafael wanted to say to Max; he wanted nothing more than to assure his little brother that his parabatai did not mean any more to him than Max did, that having this bond with George did not in any way diminish his love for Max. But Rafael struggled to find the right words, and by the time he finally had, the light from Max's hands had extinguished and Rafael knew his little brother had fallen asleep.

* * *

"Rafe, come in here and talk to me for a minute." Rafael heard his dad's voice from the other room. He and Max had been getting ready for their mission, and he was running out of time before the rest of them were supposed to meet them at the loft. But he knew that his dad was well aware of what time it was, so he threw his bow over his shoulder and walked toward his father's voice, hoping that whatever his dad had to talk to him about was more about business than it was about him personally. Rafael was only slightly surprised when he walked in and his father said, "Sit down and tell me how you've been lately."

Rafael couldn't help but sigh. He knew his dad meant well, just like his entire family did. But he also knew that his family worried about him much more than they should. Rafael hated feeling like he was annoyed by their efforts to keep him safe and happy, but the last thing he wanted was for them to constantly be focused on him instead of things that would mean much more in the long run. "I've been absolutely fine, Dad," he replied, trying his hardest to keep the annoyance out of his voice. "If this is about me having a nightmare last night, please don't worry about that. I'm used to it, Dad."

After he finished speaking, Rafael couldn't help but look down at his hands. The look his father was giving him was far too full of concern, and that was something that Rafael simply couldn't take at the moment. That was the sort of thing that would distract him during the mission, and distraction was the last thing he needed in life and death situations. "You wouldn't lie to me about that, would you?" Alec finally asked, his voice cold in a way that it rarely was. Rafael could feel the worry and the skepticism, and he wanted nothing more than to erase that from his dad's mind.

"Never," Rafael said, recognizing the waver in his voice and knowing his father heard it too. He hated doing this to either of his parents, but he also knew that if he was completely and utterly honest with them that they would likely never let him out of their sight. Before either of them could say anything else, however, George was at the door, motioning for Rafael to get outside as quickly as possible. Rafael tried to throw one last smile at his father, promising himself that he would take care of everything that was going on in his mind so that his dads didn't have to deal with it. That was the least he could do for them, and Rafael hoped with everything he had that he would actually be capable of doing it this time. He couldn't afford to fail at it again.

* * *

 **Sorry it's been so long since I updated this! Please, please let me know what you think of it! I have so, so many plans for my OCs and I want to hear all your thoughts on them because they're basically my children! I hope all of you will grow to love them as much as I do!**


	3. Author's Note

Hi all! So I am very, very sorry that I have to update in this way, but I think it's something that needs to be clarified!

I have not abandoned my writing, this story or the others that I'm currently working on. I barely have time for my homework at the moment, so writing is not a priority in any way, shape, or form. I know that sucks, and I miss it more than I can describe, but my school and my personal life come way before my writing. I know a lot of you might get angry or upset over that, but I started writing for me and me alone, so unfortunately, I can't cater to everyone else when it would make me unable to do the things I truly need to do.

I'd be glad to tell you all about my schedule if for some reason you think I'm exaggerating. Basically, I am a full-time student working a part-time job working a part-time research position working part-time at church. So lately, my downtime has been when I'm asleep. Unfortunately, this means that I'm doing something school or work related from the moment I get up to the moment I go to bed, so I am hard-pressed to find any downtime at all to write in.

I am going to try to write this weekend, but I make no promises on that as I will be on duty for my job all weekend.

I am truly sorry that I have been gone for so long, and I hope to be back soon, but my updates will be very, very few and far between at the moment.

Thanks so much for understanding, I love you all!


	4. Chapter 3

**Hi all! Sorry that it's been so long since my last update on absolutely any of my stories! I have a lot of Plans (*insert trademark symbol here*) for this story and these OCs! (Yes, it's okay to be scared by what that means!)**

 **Let me know your thoughts! Please remain patient with me as I definitely am still just as busy as ever before. I will try to update soon, but I make absolutely no promises about that. Thanks for being understanding!**

* * *

James wanted nothing more than to go to bed, or at the very least to be able to curl up in the library and read. It had been a very long week, and the last thing James wanted to do was to train, but that was exactly what he knew he needed to do. So he'd ended up in the training room completely alone yet again. They'd been working on hand-to-hand combat, and James knew that he was decidedly the worst out of their group when it came to this. Just as he knew he always was no matter what sort of combat they were working on in training.

James closed his eyes and tried to rid his mind of the images that seemed to be continually playing through his head. His father had visited their training session that day, and naturally he had done so at the exact moment that James had lost his footing and all but tripped into George's fist. Now all that James could seem to think about was the look on his father's face as he seemed to realize just how awful his son was at fighting. His father had come to offer help, but he'd been rigid the entire time that he had instructed James in how to keep his balance.

It had been very clear to James that he was just as horrible as he'd always thought he was. So now here he was, thinking about what his father had told him all but a million times, trying his hardest to correctly do what his father had tried to explain to him. James couldn't help but think of the way Charlie moved, as though she was born to fight, even without the aid of runes. He tried to imitate the way she moved, the way all of his cousins moved, even Max. But nothing seemed to help him in any way.

"What's going on?" James had been so focused on his training that when he heard his Uncle Alec's voice from behind him, he couldn't help but jump. When he turned around, he wasn't at all surprised to see that Alec's gaze was carefully trained on him, studying his every move and expression much in the way Rafael always seemed to do. "Why are you training this late?" Alec asked, his voice much more gentle than James would have liked for it to be. "And by yourself," he finished, motioning for James to follow him.

Alec sat down, leaning against the wall, patting the floor beside of him to indicate that he wanted James to sit with him. As soon as James sat down, Alec passed him a water bottle. "Take a break," Alec said, waiting for James to take a drink before continuing. "You deserve to relax, James, you know that right?" James slowly nodded after several seconds, but he didn't speak up, sensing that his uncle was going to continue. "You know you can talk to me, right? About anything at all." The last part was a statement instead of a question, and it caught James slightly off guard.

It took James several more seconds before he finally answered, finding his voice for the first time since his uncle had entered the room. "I know that, Uncle Alec," he said, trying to keep his voice as even as possible, trying his hardest to keep from giving away everything that he was feeling. "I need the training, that's all. I just know I need the practice so I like to come in here when I have the room to myself. It helps me focus better when I'm alone." He waited through the pause that he had known was coming, the pause that indicated that his uncle was analyzing what he had just said, working through the situation before him.

"What makes you think you need the extra training?" Alec eventually asked, his voice void of anything that might tell James how his uncle was feeling. "You talk as though you're in need of more practice than your sister or any of your cousins. Why is that?" James sighed, knowing that he wasn't going to get out of explaining himself, no matter what might happen from that moment forward. He could try to lie to his uncle, but even if that was something he would be willing to do, he knew that Uncle Alec would see through it. Uncle Alec might not comment on it at the moment, but he would be able to sense what was really going on.

So it didn't take long for James to realize that his only option was to be completely honest with his uncle, no matter how hard that might seem to be for him to do. "I talk as though I need more training than everyone else because I know I do need it," James replied, training his eyes on his feet, gathering the courage to speak once more. "I know you saw me trip today, and you and I both know that it certainly wasn't the first time I've messed up like that in training. It's pretty common actually. Everyone else seems to have been born for fighting, and then there's me, constantly tripping over my own two feet and pushing my glasses back into place."

Alec considered this in the same way he had before. James was surprised when his uncle's hand moved to cover his own hand that was resting on his knee. "If I had a dollar for every time I'd ever messed up in training, I'd be set for life," Alec responded, his voice softer than it had been before just moments before. "Not to mention the number of times I've messed up in a real battle. No one is perfect, James. Some of us struggle with fighting more than others. That doesn't mean you need to compare yourself to them. I can easily see that you're improving every day, and that's all that matters."

James tried to tell himself that Uncle Alec was right, but at the moment, he really didn't want to think rationally about the situation. "Tell that to Dad then," James replied, registering the bitterness in his voice. "He's the one who seems to expect me to be perfect. I'm just trying to live up to everything he seems to expect, but I'm not sure that anyone could ever live up to it." James tried to hold back his emotions, but now that he was finally talking, he couldn't seem to control it anymore. "I train by myself every day because, when it comes down to it, Dad and I both know that I need all the extra training I can get."

At first, it seemed as though Alec was going to begin to argue with him, but then he got up, and James was greatly confused. Alec reached down to help James up, the ghost of a smile on his face. "Why don't we go get some pizza? Just the two of us?" Alec asked, and James couldn't help but smile as he followed his uncle out of the training room. Of course Uncle Alec knew exactly what to do to cheer him up.

* * *

James was slightly surprised that they were able to make it through dinner without any interruptions. Almost as soon as they had left the pizza place, Uncle Alec's phone began ringing, something that didn't surprise James in the least. He quickly followed Alec as he motioned for James to change direction with him, apparently turning toward wherever the person calling needed him to go. "You ready for a routine demonic activity call?" he asked as he hung up the phone, smiling as James swallowed the lump in his throat. "Don't worry," Alec continued, his smile spreading. "I know you're ready for it."

It was easy to listen to Uncle Alec because James knew that his uncle was being sincere. Uncle Alec didn't say anything that he didn't truly mean, and he certainly wasn't one to warp the truth in any way. Of course, it was easy to listen to his uncle until he actually saw the situation at hand. James watched as they rounded a corner to see the reason Alec had been called, all but gasping as Alec stopped in his tracks. It took a lot to surprise Alec enough to do this, and James knew that the scene before them was worse than he himself probably thought it was.

When Uncle Alec had said "demonic activity," James hadn't expected to see his Uncle Magnus at the source of the activity. He knew that Max, Rafael, and Maddie were still at the Institute, and he'd simply assumed that Uncle Magnus was as well. But now here he was, staring at Uncle Magnus who was talking to a man he'd never seen before. This man looked eerily like an older version of Uncle Magnus, but whoever he was seemed to be a lot more of a problem than James had first thought he was. The expression on Uncle Alec's face told James that the situation before them was certainly much worse than what he could tell from what he could see. Not to mention the fact that he had his arms around a young Shadowhunter girl, not much older than Sophie and Anna, a knife to her throat.

"Alec!" the strange man exclaimed, his voice inexplicably causing chills to run down James's spine. "How nice of you to join us, Magnus was just catching me up, telling me about your lovely children." There was something in the man's tone that told James that he was insincere, something that told him that the situation at hand was terribly wrong. "I'm assuming that this," the man continued, lazily throwing a hand toward James. "Is one of Jace and Clary's. The red hair is a dead giveaway." James's eyes shifted to the ground, suddenly self conscious, suddenly wishing that he hadn't agreed to go with Uncle Alec.

"No," Uncle Magnus began, his voice firm and to the point. "Magnus was just leaving." His tone left no room for negotiation, but the other man didn't seem to be phased by it at all. James watched as Uncle Magnus froze, his whole body tensing as the knife slid ever so slightly across the girl's throat. James couldn't help but wince, the fear in the girl's eyes all too evident. "Right after you let her go," Uncle Magnus finished, his eyes never wavering for a moment.

The man shook his head, a smile growing across his face in a way that made James terribly uncomfortable. He'd never seen such an awful smile. "Come on now, son, this reunion is just getting started." James automatically reached for his seraph blade, finally understanding exactly what was happening, but Uncle Alec reached out a hand to calm him, motioning for him to stay back. The man before him was very obviously Asmodeus, which meant that he was the source of the demonic activity, and it meant that they were also in a lot more trouble than James had first believed.

His father had told him that Asmodeus was trapped in Edom, that he could only get out if someone summoned him. James couldn't help but wonder what kind of twisted person would be willing to summon Asmodeus, but he also couldn't keep from wondering why Asmodeus found the need to make himself look like Uncle Magnus. James knew it was most likely a trick of the mind, something he did because he knew it would bother both Uncle Magnus and Uncle Alec, but that didn't make it any easier to him either. "Magnus, what's going on?" Uncle Alec asked, his voice much colder than James had ever heard it before.

"Magnus and I were just coming to a little agreement," Asmodeus replied, his voice far more relaxed than Alec would have thought it could be. "Weren't we, son?" he finished, his voice becoming cold in a matter of seconds. He was challenging Magnus, and even James could easily see that. After a few seconds that seemed to stretch into hours, Uncle Magnus finally shook his head, rejecting whatever his father's offer was.

What happened next happened far too quickly for James to properly follow it. The girl was on the ground before Uncle Magnus and Uncle Alec could reach her, the knife slicing her throat far too quickly for James's eyes to register. When James finally looked away from her, he was surprised to see that Asmodeus was gone. Uncle Magnus was by the girl's side seconds later, but James knew that nothing he could do would be enough. Before James had the time to decide what he wanted to do, Uncle Alec was in front of him, blocking his view. "James, I need you to go home now. I'll be right behind you, I promise. Just get out of here for me, okay?" All James could do was nod, knowing that he needed to listen to his uncle.

* * *

James was slightly surprised when Uncle Alec found him in the greenhouse. For as long as he could remember, he'd been coming to the greenhouse whenever he needed to get away from the things that were going on around him. But then James remembered that this was a habit he'd apparently picked up from Uncle Alec himself, so he simply tried to flash a smile as Uncle Alec sat down beside of him. When Uncle Alec didn't say anything at all, James decided to speak up despite the wavering in his voice. "He killed her. Without hesitation. Without any sort of remorse at all. He just killed her."

Uncle Alec sighed as he moved to wrap an arm around James, and it was then that James realized that he was shaking. "He's a demon, James," Alec said, his voice far from the sort of calm that it normally was. "They don't have any sort of feelings, least of all remorse for absolutely anything that they do." As he spoke, Alec's voice became softer, as though he was slowly remembering something. "It's absolutely horrid, trust me, I know. Nothing will ever compare to watching someone innocent lose their life. I just need you to know that I'm here if you need to talk about what happened tonight."

James couldn't help but lean into his uncle at that, his emotions suddenly overwhelming him in waves. But James involuntarily found himself wishing that his father was by his side, and he idly wondered whether or not Uncle Alec had spoken to his parents about what had happened yet. James was just about to ask Uncle Alec when Rafael all but burst into the greenhouse. "Dad, we need you right now," he said, his voice much more frantic than James had ever heard it. "The Clave took Papa to Idris. They're questioning him because of the murder; they think he was working with Asmodeus."


	5. Chapter 4

**Hi all! Sorry again that it's been so long since I've updated!**

 **This week, I've been experimenting with the kind of time that I have, and I've been trying to see if I can begin to schedule time to write or not. At the moment, I'm not entirely sure if I'll be able to do so, but I am certainly going to try to start writing at least a little every night. What this means for the three stories that I currently have going is that I'm going to try my hardest to post a new chapter on at least one of them every weekend. BUT if/when that doesn't happen, please understand that my schedule is fluid and some weeks I have much more time than others.**

 **Anyways...let me know what you think of this story so far! I'm really excited about this because this story is certainly going to be only the beginning for these kids. I've got a lot of plans for them, and I already love them with all my heart, so I cannot wait to share what I have in store for them!**

 **Please, please let me know your thoughts! That would help tremendously in helping me get my motivation for writing back! Thanks tons for being so understanding and so loyal!**

 **Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did! (PS Max and James are my babies and I'm a bit biased when it comes to them at the moment).**

* * *

Max tried to calm his breathing as he forced himself to step through the Portal. Under normal circumstances, he would have been very proud of himself, but right now, all he could think about was how nervous he was. With his papa gone, Max had jumped at the chance to make the Portal by himself for the first time. But the only reason he'd been given the chance to make the Portal was because the Clave had "politely arrested" his papa, or so his dad had phrased it. So their only options had been to either wait for Catarina to come make the Portal or to let Max do it himself.

But none of that really mattered to Max as he stepped through to Idris. The only thing that really mattered was taking care of the situation at hand, but Max's chest tightened as he realized that he was almost powerless to help his papa. Max felt himself involuntarily relax when he felt James's hand on his shoulder. "This accusation is completely outrageous," James said, obviously trying to make it seem as though he was calm himself, but Max could sense just how tense James really was. Yet Max couldn't help but smile ever so slightly, knowing that James was trying his hardest to comfort him.

"I keep telling myself that," Max replied, glancing over at Rafael to try to gauge how his brother was feeling as well. "But I'm not exactly the one who needs to be convinced; that would be the Clave." Max didn't need to say what else he was thinking, that the Clave would be hard-pressed to believe that Magnus was innocent in the matter, that the Clave rarely let the Downworlders they had arrested go. Max shoved his thoughts aside as best as possible, following James into the Accords Hall. He couldn't keep from thinking that he certainly didn't know everything there was to know about his papa, but as soon as he saw Magnus, all of those doubts were swept away.

Max saw his papa in the center of the room, tied to a chair with a rope made of electrum, and suddenly Max felt his chest tighten once more. Max moved to the side as his dad rushed past him and to Magnus's side. The only thing Max knew to do was to take a seat. He knew that the last thing he could possibly bring himself to do would be to go talk to his papa. Plus, he'd already heard everything he needed to know from James, and letting his papa see just how nervous and upset he was would only be counterproductive for all of them.

Max relaxed into James's silence, terribly relieved that no one had come to sit with them. James was often the only one who seemed to understand him, the only one who knew when to remain silent or knew exactly what to say to help him. James had been his best friend for as long as Max could remember, and he'd often heard James say that if Max had been a Shadowhunter, they would have been parabatai in a heartbeat. And Max knew he would be the last person on earth to ever disagree with that statement. So Max was almost heartbreakingly relieved to have James by his side now, knowing that he could count on James when he really needed to.

Looking around the room, Max tried to suppress the anger that was slowly welling up within him. The meeting was meant to be a "routine questioning" since his papa was the primary witness, and that meant that the meeting was not meant to be public. But from the amount of people in the room, Max could tell that it certainly hadn't been kept quiet. Max also knew that Shadowhunters were never chained to their chairs when brought in for questioning. The Clave had made many concessions for Magnus over the years, and even Max was able to tell that a lot of the members were simply looking for a reason to stop making those concessions.

Max turned to give James a very subtle glance when he felt the other start shaking with laughter that he was clearly trying to repress. James tilted his head slightly to the side, and Max's eyes flicked to the pair of young boys sitting just a few seats down from them. "One is trying to convince the other that warlocks have x-ray vision, but the other is insisting that this is false and that he's entirely certain warlocks can read minds." Max couldn't help but laugh despite the fact that laughing was the last thing he wanted to do. The boys had quite obviously been raised in Idris since they seemed to know very little about Downworlders in general.

Smiling and laughing were two things that seemed absolutely impossible at the moment, but they were exactly what James helped him to do, and Max was willing to bet that James was the only person on Earth who would be able to. Yet Max still took a deep breath as the Clave officially convened to question his papa, knowing that there would be no going back from the decision that would be made in just a few short minutes. Max tried to keep from registering the conversation that was taking place, highly aware of the fact that if he overthought things that he would likely break down.

So instead, Max focused on those around him; he focused on the room and the people instead of what was being said, instead of what was happening to his papa. The first person his eyes landed on was naturally Rafael. He could very easily see just how nervous Rafe was as well, even though he knew that Rafe would look completely calm to most people. Yet Max automatically picked up on the fact that his brother was continuously turning the ring on his finger over and over again. It was a habit that Rafael had picked up long ago since he'd worn the Lightwood ring every day since he'd gotten it. Max knew that playing with the ring was wholly comforting to Rafael and that it was the only nervous habit he'd ever picked up, the only thing that had ever tarnished his perfect composure.

Max's eyes shifted to George next, thankful that his brother had someone by his side as well, also becoming thankful that their sister was not there, knowing that she would likely be unable to deal with the situation. George was visibly relaxed, but Max could tell by the way he was sitting that he was focused on Rafe and anything he might be able to do to help his parabatai. Max almost smiled when he realized that Uncle Jace was sitting the same exact way that George was, his focus on Alec and what he might be able to do for the situation at hand. Max felt a momentary twinge of pain and jealousy at the thought that he would never be able to share that sort of parabatai bond as well.

But then Max's focus shifted to James once more and he immediately felt that jealously go away. Realizing that James seemed to be just as focused on helping him as Uncle Jace was with his father or George was with Rafael helped Max automatically relax. He and James might not have a parabatai bond, but it didn't take much to realize that they might as well have one. It was that realization that allowed Max to actually focus on the conversation at hand, to focus on his parents and the Clave.

"So let me get this straight," Magnus was saying, his eyes fixed on the Clave members who had been interrogating him. "The Clave believes that I would work with Asmodeus on whatever absolutely ridiculous plan he's currently forming. But, as though the mere notion that I would work with him on anything at all wasn't absurd enough, the Clave believes that I would help Asmodeus to murder an innocent girl." Magnus paused for a moment and shook his head, almost as though he was amused by the thought of it all.

"For me, working with Asmodeus would be like Alec or any of the rest of the Lightwoods deciding that they would willingly conspire with Jonathan Morgenstern." This time, Magnus's pause was heavy, the accusation he was making all too evident. Max all but winced at what his father had just said. He knew very little about what Asmodeus had done in the past, but he did know enough to understand the weight of what his father was saying. "You should very easily be able to realize that I have not once called him 'my father.' That's because I've distanced myself from him at all costs; that's because he is not a father to me. And if the Clave cannot see how much I truly despise that demon, then nothing I ever say will convince you that I had nothing to do with this."

Max swallowed the lump in his throat and watched as they asked Magnus a few more clarifying questions. But when it came time for them to deliver their verdict, Max got up from his seat and immediately made his way into the hallway. He'd decided before it had ever begun that he wanted to hear the Clave's decision from his parents first. Max had somewhat expected that if anyone followed him out of the room that it would be James. But when he turned around to see that Rafael had followed him out, Max tried and failed to figure out exactly why his brother had done so.

Rafael simply moved to place a hand on Max's shoulder as they waited for everyone else to exit the room. Either their papa would be allowed to leave with the rest of the family or he wouldn't, but either way, they would know what the Clave had decided. When the door opened again, Max felt Rafael's hand tighten on his shoulder, but Max had already flung himself into his papa's arms before Rafael could so much as move. He didn't really know how they'd gotten themselves out of the situation, but at the moment, he wasn't going to question it.

* * *

Max woke up in a sweat, and he immediately realized that he wasn't alone. He tried to push away the thought of the nightmare he'd just had as he sat up, smiling weakly as he realized who was in his room. "I'm sorry if I woke you, Papa," he said, hoping that his nightmare hadn't caused him to be too loud. Max moved over to let Magnus sit down beside of him, throwing the sheets off of himself in the hopes that he might cool down a bit. Max finally felt his heart rate begin to steady, finally felt comfortable for the first time all night, finally felt as though he and everyone around him was safe.

"You didn't wake me, Max," Magnus said, keeping his voice low as though he didn't want to wake up anyone else. "I was passing your room and realized you were having a nightmare." There was a very long pause in which Max began to wonder what his papa was doing up in the middle of the night. "What's wrong, Max?" Magnus asked, his voice much gentler than it normally was. "You and I both know that you never have nightmares, not like this." Max hated to admit that his papa was right. Rafael was the one who always had nightmares, not him; and even when he had nightmares, they weren't the kind that usually made him wake up in a sweat.

Max momentarily considered lying to his papa, but he knew that Magnus was just as intuitive as Rafael, that his papa would very easily see through any lie Max tried to feed him. "Why did Jonathan Morgenstern kill Uncle Max?" he suddenly asked, his question only slightly relating to his nightmare. He felt his papa freeze ever so slightly, but Max wasn't surprised by that, knowing that his question was unexpected to say the least.

Magnus took a deep breath, as if the question was making him relive something that he certainly did not want to relive. "Personally, I've always believed that it was because he was threatened by Max. Max knew too much; he was so bright that he probably already assumed a lot about Jonathan that we didn't find out for another few days." Max couldn't help but look up at his papa in confusion when Magnus chuckled ever so slightly. "It's interesting that someone so powerful could ever feel threatened by a child. But what's this really about?" he finally asked, which was not at all surprising to Max.

"The nightmare," Max said, his voice wavering ever so slightly. "I was just wondering if Jonathan did the things he did for the same reasons that Asmodeus does what he does. I can't help but wonder if it was really the demon blood that made Jonathan into what he was just like it does with Asmodeus." When Magnus moved to slip his arm around Max, Max understood that his papa was very easily picking up on exactly what he was implying. It made Max feel terribly vulnerable, but he also knew that his papa would be the one person to truly understand what he was feeling.

Magnus seemed to consider what had been said for several seconds, almost as though he was afraid of saying the wrong thing. "Demon blood doesn't make a person a demon anymore than angel blood makes someone an angel, Max. Who you are doesn't come from what you're born as; it comes from what you do with your life; it comes from who you decide to become. Where you're born and what you're born as only decides where you start your life. You're the one who decides where you end up." Max knew that what his papa was saying made sense, that it was completely and utterly logical. But that didn't help him in believing it.

"Asmodeus is a demon simply because that's what he is, because that's what nature dictates he be. I won't try to argue with you on that one," Magnus continued, and Max couldn't help but notice how Magnus's voice became almost bitter on his father's name. "But that's the difference between them and us, son. We have a choice every single minute of our lives. We absolutely always have a choice in what we do and who we become. Never lose sight of that, Max. No matter where life takes you, never forget that you always have a choice."

Max closed his eyes for several seconds, trying to absorb what his papa was saying, trying to refocus all of his energy on Magnus's words instead of the words continually running through his own mind. "Papa? What did Asmodeus do to you exactly?" Max finally asked, his voice weaker than he wanted it to be. As Max waited for his papa to answer the question, he felt himself slipping back into sleep, comforted by the presence of his papa.

He tried his hardest to keep his eyes open, but his papa seemed to notice the change in his demeanor, the relaxation that had overwhelmed him. "We'll talk about that later, son," Magnus said, slipping his arm out from around Max. "Get some rest, and don't you dare worry about me. We'll have plenty of time to figure this out later." Max tried to say "thank you," as he heard the door to his room close, but he wasn't quite sure that the words made it out of his mouth before the darkness of sleep consumed him once more.


	6. Chapter 5

**Another update?! I just got really good at time management this week, so happy reading!**

* * *

With Uncle Magnus being questioned and almost all of the family in Idris, Anna had had a wonderfully lazy day, and that was perfectly fine with her. She'd spent nearly the entire day reading, knowing that it was better to fill her mind with the words of a book than to sit around and think about what may or may not be happening with Uncle Magnus and the Clave. Both Sophie and Maddie had come to check on her several times throughout the day. Maddie generally brought her little snacks, something so considerate and gentle that Anna couldn't help but think of Uncle Alec.

Every time Sophie had come to check on her, Anna had been hard-pressed to convince her that she really didn't need any help. Sophie was always, always trying to protect her, to help her when she could. Anna certainly appreciated the concern her twin sister always showed; she loved the fact that she always knew that Sophie would have her back no matter the situation, but sometimes Anna wished that everyone in the family would understand that she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. Being quiet didn't equate to being weak. But out of all the people, Sophie seemed to understand that the best, offering help in a way that never seemed to be demeaning.

So when Anna heard the first rumble of thunder, she automatically got up from where she'd been sitting in the greenhouse and headed toward Sophie's room. She didn't bother knocking as she entered, but Anna instinctively locked the door behind her as she always did when she came to stay with Sophie during a storm. When Anna entered, Sophie was already wrapped up in her covers, and Anna couldn't help but smile when she saw Murphy's head sticking out from under the covers as well. Murphy was Sophie's puppy, the cutest brown lab Anna had ever laid eyes on.

But Anna was the only one that knew about Murphy, and she and Sophie both knew that if their parents found out that Murphy would likely automatically be with a new family within the hour. Yet Anna refused to tell anyone about Murphy, refused to betray her sister that way. Anna knew that Sophie needed Murphy, knew that ratting Sophie out would be the worst possible way to hurt her. For as long as Anna could remember, Sophie had had a rather extreme phobia of thunderstorms that she refused to tell anyone other than Anna about. When Sophie had found Murphy as a stray puppy, she'd taken him in, only to discover that Murphy would comfort her during storms. Now, it seemed as though the only way to get Sophie through a storm was to ensure that she had Murphy by her side.

Anna climbed in bed beside of her sister, giving Murphy a pat on his head. "Uncle Alec and Uncle Magnus got back just a little bit ago," Sophie said, her voice strained as it usually was during storms. "The Clave decided that Uncle Magnus had nothing to do with the girl's murder." Anna sighed in relief, feeling like a huge weight had just been lifted from her shoulders. She hadn't realized until that moment just how worried she'd been about her uncle, but she did know that she'd never once suspected that Uncle Magnus had had anything to do with the situation in the slightest. "How did reading go today?" Sophie suddenly asked, but the question was far from surprising to Anna.

"I told you a million times already," Anna replied, her voice far from angry. She had trouble being angry with Sophie, especially when she knew that her sister was only trying to help her. "I got a lot of practice in today, and it wasn't as bad as it normally is." Like Murphy was for Sophie, Anna's trouble with reading was her secret. Anna didn't know what was wrong with her, but there was definitely something different. She'd never told her parents because she simply didn't know how to do so, but now it seemed as though it was far too late to tell anyone else about it.

Anna wrapped an arm around Sophie as they heard more thunder, and she knew that she needed to keep talking, to distract her sister from what was going on outside. "Preston Cartwright is something else, isn't he?" she asked, her voice full of sarcasm in a way that it rarely was. Anna smiled when her sister laughed, knowing that the sarcasm definitely came as a surprise to Sophie. When Murphy moved to snuggle closer to Sophie, Anna knew that another round of thunder was coming, but this time, Sophie was too focused on her puppy to worry much about it.

"I've got a few words I could use other than 'something,'" Sophie replied after kissing Murphy's head. Anna could only imagine the words that Sophie and George might come up with for Preston, not to mention what Charlie might say about him. But there was something about the boy that was almost sad to Anna, and she had a hard time staying angry with him over what he had said to Charlie. It was almost as though his arrogance was a sort of defence, as if he was trying to overcompensate for what he really felt inside. "He isn't bad looking, though," Sophie admitted almost begrudgingly. "I will give him that."

Anna considered this for several seconds, and hated to realize that her sister was right. But what was most interesting to her about Preston wasn't his looks or even the thought that he might be half as good as he thought he was. Anna was interested in the part of Preston that he was hiding, the part of him that he truly didn't want anyone to know about. What Anna truly loved was a good mystery, and Preston Cartwright was just that. But she knew that she'd have to be careful; she knew that she couldn't let any of her family know just how intrigued she was by him.

* * *

Getting up the next morning for training was grueling to say the least. Anna had stayed with Sophie all night, long after the storm had passed, spending time with her her sister in a way she hadn't had the chance to in a long time. Anna enjoyed the distraction of training, but she couldn't keep herself from focusing on Preston throughout training as well. She almost wished the she had the kind of intuition that Rafael had, that she could spend five minutes with a person and know their life's story the way he could. But since she didn't have the same kind of skills that Rafael had, she watched Preston as closely as possible, squeezing out every ounce of information that she could.

In the end, she realized that despite his arrogant nature, Preston seemed to be a bit timid, especially when it came to authority figures. He wouldn't meet Uncle Alec's eyes, wouldn't get very close to Uncle Jace, but he followed everything they said perfectly, as though he was afraid of messing up. Anna was terribly confused by what she picked up from Preston, so as soon as training was over, she grabbed her book and ran to the library, knowing that that was the one place people would hardly go all day..

Yet Anna was already so distracted that reading was even harder than normal. As she normally did, Anna resorted to reading out loud, something Sophie had suggested because it seemed to help her focus a bit better. She hadn't quite registered the fact that she was reading out loud, but she was so distracted that she certainly didn't realize it when someone else entered the library. All she was focused on at the moment was a particularly agonizing word that she simply couldn't seem to pronounce correctly, stumbling over the syllables over and over again, determined to get it right no matter how long it took.

Anna froze when she heard a voice just behind her, the last possible voice that she would want to hear. "I think the word you're looking for is 'miniscule,'" Preston said, his voice automatically putting Anna on guard. She'd gone to great lengths to ensure that Sophie was the only one who knew about her struggles, and now here was the one person who could very easily ruin all of that work. Naturally she had to have been discovered by the most arrogant person in the Institute; naturally she couldn't have been discovered by Max or James or anyone else she knew would be understanding.

Without stopping to think about what she was doing, Anna immediately turned on Preston, her mind already working in overdrive. "I don't need your help," she said, her voice wavering ever so slightly. She wished that she could credit that to the fact that she was nervous about her family discovering her secret, but she knew that that certainly wasn't the case. This was the first time that she'd seen Preston without his gear on, and she absolutely hated to admit that the deep orange shirt he was wearing greatly complimented his brown hair and green eyes.

"I wasn't trying to imply that you did," Preston replied, all of the usual arrogance completely erased from his tone. He moved to sit down across from Anna, and she couldn't help but look back down at her hands, at the book she'd been reading, suddenly much more self-conscious than she had been before. "When you look at the page," Preston continued, his voice suddenly becoming much gentler than it had ever been before, "the words seem so familiar to you, but the letters look as though they're continually floating around the page and sometimes you just can't tell where the letters are supposed to go?"

Anna couldn't help but look up at Preston in thinly veiled surprise, unable to keep her expression neutral in any way. For as long as Anna could remember, those around her had had no idea what she felt like day in and day out. No one had ever been able to articulate exactly how she was struggling. She was so surprised that she was unable to respond, unable to even let Preston know that he was right. "I know what you're thinking, Anna. But trust me when I tell you that there's nothing wrong with you. It's called dyslexia, and it's very common among mundanes but you didn't know what it was because it's very rare among Shadowhunters. Google it if you don't believe me." Anna tried to hide her smile as she reached for her phone, mostly because she wanted to make sure that Preston was really telling her the truth, mostly because she wasn't quite ready to fully trust him.

"If you would ever like any help in learning how to manage it, you know where to find me," Preston said as he got up from his seat. Anna looked up at him with an almost blank expression, trying to figure out if this was truly the same arrogant boy she had seen just hours before. "My little sister had dyslexia; I loved reading with her." Preston stopped speaking very abruptly, and Anna was left to wonder why Preston had used past tense when referring to his sister. There was only one obvious reason, but Anna didn't want to think about what that meant exactly. Before Anna could respond, Preston turned to leave, and suddenly, Anna felt as though she needed to do something more.

"Preston, wait," she said, placing her book on the seat behind her as she got up as well. Preston turned around rather slowly, and Anna began to wonder if she was about to do the right thing or not. But before she could truly stop to think about the situation, the words were spilling out of her mouth. "Thank you," she said, trying to soften her voice, knowing that she'd been too harsh with him before. "And I think I'll take you up on that offer after training tomorrow." This time, it was Anna's turn to move to leave, but not before she caught the smile on Preston's face. Anna couldn't help but wonder how a person's smile could change their appearance so drastically.

* * *

All through training, Anna tried to keep her eyes off of Preston, knowing that her cousins and siblings would very easily pick up on anything out of the ordinary. Yet the less suspicious she tried to make herself look, the more she felt as though she was acting suspicious. Training felt as though it was dragging on and on in a way it never had before, and Anna begrudgingly found herself looking forward to spending time with Preston. She had always wished that she would find someone who could truly help her with reading, and now here he was.

Several times throughout training, Anna noticed that Charlie seemed particularly out of breath, but she refrained from saying anything, mostly because James and Max were continually asking her if she was okay anyway. Charlie got out of breath quite often when it came to training, but for some reason, Anna sensed that there was something more to it today. Everyone was seemingly on edge the entire time, and the last thing Anna wanted to do was make things worse, so she continued training as she normally would, her mind occupied with thoughts of both her cousin and Preston.

Eventually, Uncle Alec signaled for them to take a break, and he swiftly left the room. It was Anna's guess that he was going to get Uncle Jace, that he'd been noticing what was going on with Charlie and that he wanted to make sure everything was alright. The only problem with this was that just a few short minutes after he left, everything suddenly turned into chaos. When Anna heard a loud thump, she turned around to see Charlie on the ground, and suddenly she froze in place. But thankfully, Rafael and George did not freeze up in the way that she did. They were by Charlie's side in seconds, but that didn't seem to make a difference.

It was very clear that Charlie couldn't breathe, painfully clear that there was something going on with her heart. "James," Rafe said, his voice forceful yet far from frantic. "Call 9-1-1. Now. She needs to go to the mundanes for help, you know that." Yet it seemed as though James couldn't move, and Anna knew that he was terrified for his sister, that he would be the last person to be able to help at a moment like this. Anna heard Max's voice, knew that he was calling for an ambulance, and suddenly she was running, trying her hardest to find absolutely any of the adults. She didn't realize she was crying until she felt her mother's arms wrap around her once Uncle Jace and Aunt Clary were by Charlie's side.

The next few minutes went by in a whirl as everyone tried to clear Charlie out, her breathing not easing in the slightest. In the end, Anna sat with her parents, trying to comprehend what was going on, trying to find a reasonable explanation for all of it. She watched as George went to be with James, knowing that her brother would stay with James all day if he needed to. Anna's eyes locked with Preston's, and for a moment, she wanted nothing more than to spend time with him again. At least she thought she did, until he spoke.

"See, just like I said," Preston began, his voice dripping with the arrogance that had been missing the day before. "If she were a real Shadowhunter, this wouldn't have happened." The world around Anna seemed to freeze, and Anna knew that Preston was very lucky that Uncle Jace was no longer in the room. Everyone around Anna seemed to have no idea of how to react or what to do. Anna's mind told her that what she was about to do was a horrible idea, but her heart told her to go for it.

She stepped away from her parents despite the fact that her mom had tightened her arm around Anna. Anna reached for one of her throwing knives, handling it with expert care. "Real Shadowhunters," she began, throwing the knife with terrifying speed toward Preston's head. The knife lodged in the wall just centimeters away from him, but Anna was already reaching for a second knife. "Would never talk about other Shadowhunters," she said, throwing the second knife to the opposite side of Preston's head. "Like that," she finished, letting a third knife fly, the knife landing just above Preston's head this time. She forced herself to keep from registering the look on Preston's face; the only thing she could think about at the moment was Charlie and just how terrified she was for her cousin.

Anna knew that everyone in the room was likely looking at her with a mixture of shock and confusion. Usually, Sophie and George were the ones who were prone to outbursts like that. But Anna didn't care. All she cared about was getting out of the training room and away from Preston. Her mind was already running at full speed, wondering why she'd ever been foolish enough to think that Preston might be anything less than an arrogant jerk. She felt like an idiot for trusting him in the slightest. Anna knew there would be questions to answer later, but at the moment, she just needed to get away and be alone, to figure out exactly what was going on without having anyone else around her.

* * *

 **Just so you all know the plan, this story is only going to have a few more chapters to it. Then, I will begin writing the main story for my OCs. It'll be about their overall plot line and the villain that they're going to have to deal with and various other villains actually. In addition to that, I will be writing various one-shots for a lot of my OCs as a way to give you all backstories and so on. Each of them has a secret or a fear that greatly comes into play in their stories, as you saw with Sophie and Anna in this chapter, so I will be writing some different things about them in regards to those!**

 **Let me know your thoughts! I love hearing form you all about my writing!**


	7. Chapter 6

**Hi all! As always, thanks for being patient with me! I'm going to try my hardest to speed up my writing, but I'm not sure that's going to happen in the next couple of weeks.**

 **Today, I came up with a lot of ideas that I am really very excited for with this story! I honestly love these kids so much, and I cannot wait until you guys see what's in store for them!**

 **The next chapter should be the last chapter in this story. Then, I'm going to start the next story in this series which will be the longer story that has a lot more in it than this does (like a new villain specifically made for the kids...and much, much more)!**

 **I hope you all love this as much as I do! Please let me know what your thoughts on this story are! I would love, love, love to hear from you all about this story!**

 **Hope to see you all soon!**

* * *

The absolute last thing James wanted to do was to go home, but that's exactly what he felt like he was being forced to do. He followed Uncle Alec back into the Institute, completely silent and cold to his uncle in a way he wasn't sure he'd ever been. He knew that his family was trying to help, but that didn't seem to make a difference at the moment. When Uncle Alec had all but ordered him to come home, James had sincerely fought with his uncle for the first time in his life. He'd known that he wouldn't win, but that hadn't kept him from trying anyway. James couldn't even remember the last time he'd so much as been angry with his uncle, but at the moment, he couldn't even so much as look at Uncle Alec.

The worst part of it all was that James knew his uncle was right. But James also knew that if it had been Aunt Isabelle that Uncle Alec wouldn't have left her side for anything in the world. Charlie had been in surgery for several hours before they'd left, and James knew that she'd likely be in surgery for several more. At the moment, the surgery was being watched over by Aunt Catarina, the only person who would be able to magically hide the fact that Charlie's blood was any different from that of mundanes. They'd pulled James away, telling him that there was nothing he could do for Charlie at the moment.

So James pushed past his uncle and headed straight for his room, refusing to look back even when Alec called to him. For the first time in his life, James ignored Max as well, pushing past everyone, determined to be alone no matter what that took. He shouldn't have been surprised when Max followed him into his room. This time, however, James didn't stop to try to get Max to leave, he simply laid down on his bed and ignored the other boy. The only thing he wanted to do at the moment was to go to sleep, but he knew that he would never be able to, that he wouldn't be able to stop thinking about Charlie long enough to do so.

James was terribly relieved when Max simply sat down in the chair next to his bed without saying a word. It was almost as though Max understood that James needed someone with him but that James didn't want to be bothered by anything at the moment. It was almost as though Max understood this better than James understood it himself. For the first time all day, James finally relaxed into the silence around him. He hadn't realized just how loud the hospital was until he was surrounded by silence once more. Without meaning to, James found himself slipping into sleep, which he knew was a terrible idea. His dreams were bound to be much worse than any of the thoughts he was currently having.

As a last resort, James got out of bed and motioned for Max to follow him, still unable to find his voice. He was very lucky, however, to know that Max would pick up on absolutely every little thought of his. That meant that he didn't need to voice his thoughts for Max to figure out that he wanted to go work off all of his stress in the training room. That meant that he didn't have to voice all of his fears for Max to know exactly what he was worried about or even for Max to know exactly what to do to help him work through those feelings.

"Let's spar," James said as soon as they had walked through the door of the training room. Sparring with Max was always the most difficult for him because Max would fight with a combination of hand-to-hand and with the use of his magic. Having to dodge Max's magic generally took much more from James than sparring with any of the others, and right now, he wanted to focus all of his attention on something other than his sister. Max seemed to sense this because he simply set up to spar without saying a word, somehow understanding James almost better than James understood himself.

At first, the spar was a huge relief to James, forcing his mind to focus on the movements he was making rather than what might be happening to Charlie at the moment. James let the action of sparring take him away from the reality of everything else that was going on around him. He let himself think that nothing was wrong, that he and Max were simply training like normal; he knew his father would call it a delusion, but at the moment, that was the only thing keeping him halfway sane. Yet James paused in a mixture of surprise and fear when something completely out of the ordinary happened. Max had never once actually allowed his magic to hit anyone while sparring. It was simply supposed to be a training measure and not something that could actually wound anyone.

But James couldn't help but stop when Max's magic hit his shoulder. It was just a spell to stun, nothing that actually hurt him, but the force of the spell surprised James so much that he had no idea what to do. He looked at Max in pure confusion, but before he could do anything at all, sparks were flying toward him once more, and he had to dodge the spell before he could be hit again. "Max! What's going on?" James asked, knowing that his voice was frantic but knowing that he was unable to change that fact at the moment. Not when there were even more sparks headed toward him yet again.

Between the sudden bursts of magic that James had to dodge, he got the chance to really look at Max. What terrified James the most was the fact that everything about Max seemed to have changed from the kind and gentle person Max normally was. Usually when sparring, the sparks only covered Max's fingertips, but right now, it seemed to James as though the sparks were slowly making their way up Max's arms, something he'd only ever seen from Uncle Magnus, and even that was something he'd only seen when Uncle Magnus had been fighting a demon. Yet even though James was terrified, he could very easily see just how scared Max was as well. This was something that only confused James even more. From the way Max was frantically looking at him, it seemed as if Max was out of control, as though his magic had a mind of its own at the moment, something that had never happened to Max before.

James was so focused on Max's fear that he didn't realize that there were more sparks headed toward him, and this time, it was much more than a slight graze on his shoulder. Max's spell caught him square in the chest far before he had time to react, and suddenly James found himself flying toward the wall at a speed much faster than he would have thought possible, at least when it was coming from Max. As James shook off the effect of the impact, he saw Max coming toward him, and at first he was slightly worried. But then he realized that Max seemed to have snapped out of whatever had been going on, that he was coming to see if James was hurt, that he was absolutely horrified by what had just happened.

Max helped him up, but before either of them were able to say anything at all, James jumped as his father walked through the door. His first thought was that something horrible had happened to Charlie, that his father was there to deliver the bad news, and suddenly James couldn't take it anymore. Between his confusion and worry over whatever was going on with Max and the terror he'd been feeling over Charlie all day, James couldn't imagine anything worse happening. "Could you give us a minute, Max?" Jace asked. James was unable to gather absolutely anything from his father's voice, so all he was left to do was speculate.

James watched as Max left the room, his heart rate increasing with every second. When Jace finally spoke again, James resisted the urge to close his eyes, as though that would somehow help him take the news a bit better. "Charlie's fine, James. She just got out of surgery and Catarina says that she's going to be fine. The wires on her pacemaker came loose while she was training. Catarina secretly added a spell to make sure that it wouldn't happen again. The pacemaker wasn't built for the extreme training that Shadowhunters go through." Jace paused and took a deep breath, almost as if he had to collect himself for a moment. "But that's not what I want to talk to you about right now, son."

Reluctantly, James moved to sit with his father on the one bench that the training room had, automatically staring at his feet as soon as he sat down, unable to look at his father in any way. Naturally, he was terribly relieved that Charlie was going to be okay; that was the best thing his father had told him in quite a while. But James had the sinking feeling that the conversation with his father was far from over. "Your Uncle Alec and I had a talk yesterday," Jace said, but before he could continue, James cut him off. James was fairly certain that this was the first time in his life that he'd ever done so, his respect for his father far outweighing any anger he'd felt before now. But now, James couldn't keep himself from responding in the way he so desperately needed to.

"Dad, please don't. I know what's coming, and I'm not ready to hear it, not today at least." James tried to soften his voice, but he was very aware of the fact that his tone was cold to say the least. "I know I suck at fighting, you don't have to tell me that. I just want to go see Charlie now." James tried to stand up, tried to indicate that he simply just wanted to leave and be with his sister, but surprisingly, his father held up a hand and all but ordered him to stop.

"Sit back down, James," Jace said, his voice forceful but not cold in any way, and James automatically wondered why that was. "We need to have this talk right now, and then I swear to you I'll take you to see Charlie. But I refuse to leave this alone. There's so much tension between us right now, and I cannot let that go unchecked. I simply can't, James." For a moment, James began to wonder if he'd done the wrong thing by talking to Uncle Alec, but he knew that Uncle Alec had only talked to his father because he cared. "Talk to me, son. Tell me what's going on. You don't have to go to Uncle Alec; you know that, James. Just talk to me."

James hesitated, refusing to lift his eyes from the ground, unable to figure out the best way to continue. He knew that his father was right, and that was the most frustrating part of it all. "You know exactly what I want to say," James replied, knowing that he was being a bit childish. "I'm the worst Shadowhunter this family has ever seen. That's a very simple fact. And trust me when I say that I know how disappointed you are in me. Naturally the son of one of the best Shadowhunters ever is more likely to fall on his own seraph blade than to actually be killed by a demon." James paused, taking a deep breath and trying to gather exactly where he'd been going with the conversation.

This pause seemed to be just the thing that Jace had been looking for because he began speaking again, his voice far more controlled than James had expected it to be. "Disappointed?" Jace asked, no clear accusation in his voice. "Son, I have never been disappointed in you for a single moment in your entire life. Sure, you're not the best warrior in the world. So what?" It was clear that Jace was going to continue, but James didn't give him the chance to. He was far too worked up to keep himself quiet at the moment.

"So what?" he asked his father, finally looking up from the ground, finally getting the courage he needed to meet Jace's eyes. "Fighting is literally the only thing in the world that Shadowhunters are meant to do. And it just so happens to be the one thing that I am absolutely horrible at. I'm absolutely horrible at the one thing that makes us who we are. I don't know about you, but if I was the great Jace Herondale, I would definitely be disappointed to have me for a son." James watched as his father's eyes softened at that. James looked back down at his feet, suddenly unable to meet his father's eyes again. He had no idea where any of this was coming from, but he did know that this was the last thing his father had expected when he'd asked to talk.

"James," Jace began, his voice slow and careful. "This isn't about me. There are always going to be people around you who are much better than you at fighting. I've never once thought to compare you to myself because, you know what? You're not meant to be me, James. In fact, I often think that it's a very good thing that you are nothing like me. The world may compare you to me, but I honestly do not care in the slightest about what anyone else thinks. You're my son, and that's enough for me." James stood up, this time dodging his father when Jace tried to get him to sit back down.

"If that's good enough for you, then why I have I never once felt like that?" James asked, knowing that he was being entirely unfair with his father. He could see his father flinch, but at the moment, all he really cared about was getting to Charlie and forgetting about what was going on with his father. "I'll never be good enough, and I've accepted that, Dad. Now can we please go see Charlie?" There was a very long pause, but Jace finally stood up as well. Jace simply nodded, obviously too stunned to say anything else.

As they headed toward the door, James began to wonder whether or not he'd done the right thing. He knew that his father always expected honesty from them, that Jace wouldn't have wanted him to say anything other than the truth. But at the moment, all James could see was the pain that he had caused his father, and for a moment, he considered stopping his father and taking everything back. But before he could, Jace paused at the door, his voice soft as he opened the door for James. "This conversation isn't over," Jace said, motioning for James to lead the way to Charlie.

* * *

Finally getting to hug Charlie once again was the biggest relief that James had ever felt. Suddenly, James didn't care that his father was there or that the tension between them hadn't diminished in any way. All that mattered was that Charlie was fine, that she would be going home in just a few days. "You're gonna get out just in time to go to the ball," James said when their parents had finally left them alone for a bit. Every year, the Clave held a ball in celebration of the victories in the Mortal and Dark Wars. Every year, the entire family packed up and went to Idris for a week, spending some time in the countryside after the ball.

The Clave always made a huge deal out of recognizing their parents, aunt, and uncles. Not that they would actually go to any great lengths to do anything for them, seeing as they still hadn't granted Uncles Magnus and Alec the right to marry in a Shadowhunter ceremony, something they'd been fighting for all of James's life. The whole thing seemed greatly hypocritical to James, but he'd always enjoyed the time spent in Idris nonetheless. "Not sure I'm gonna feel up to it this year," Charlie replied, her voice soft in a way James hadn't heard it in a very long time. "So much brownnosing with the Clave and what do they give us in return?"

It was very obvious to James that Charlie was referring to Uncles Magnus and Alec's fight with the Clave, and he couldn't help but agree. "Yeah," James said, trying to keep the mischief out of his voice. "But you and I both know how many cute girls always show up." James smiled when Charlie chuckled, unable to laugh like she normally would because of the pain from her chest. The entire time, James had refused to look at the scar on Charlie's chest. Charlie had always had the scar; she'd had heart surgery when she was little, so this was nothing new to James. But the difference now was that the scar was fresh, that he knew she was in pain because of it now.

Charlie moved closer to James, resting her head on his shoulder. "Will you stay with me tonight, James?" she asked, her voice even softer than before. James could tell that she was extremely tired, that she was falling asleep, and he couldn't blame her for that, not when so many pain meds were running through her body at the moment. Instead of responding, James simply wrapped his arm around her, refusing to look up as his father entered the room once more. James wanted to tell Charlie that he was going to protect her from now on, that he was going to start being the brother he was supposed to be, but instead he simply kissed the top of her head as she closed her eyes, terribly thankful that Charlie was no longer in pain.


	8. Chapter 7

**Hi all! So this is the last chapter of this part of the story! The next story in the series will be a longer portion that has to do with *one* of the villains that the kids are going to have to deal with! (Meaning that there's going to be more than one villain and more than one squeal to this story!) I was really just using this one as an introduction to the kids and their characters.**

 **Before I begin the next story, I will be posting a one-shot that gives some background on a couple of the characters. I'll start posting one-shots that relate to them throughout the next story as well, as I see fit and when I get to particular parts of the story. These one-shots will be posted as separate stories but I will mark them as my OCs.**

 **Please, please come talk to me and let me know what you think of these kids! They're basically my world at the moment, and I hope you love them as much as I do!**

 **P.S. The one-shot should be up within a couple of days because I got a bit ahead of myself this weekend so it's almost done already!**

* * *

Charlie closed her eyes and tried to rid her mind of all the thoughts that she was currently drowning in. She'd gotten home from the hospital just two days ago, but she was already feeling considerably better. She knew she wouldn't want to train or fight anytime soon, but she was able to do everything else the way she normally would. Charlie knew that her great healing speed was most likely due to her Shadowhunter blood, and for that she was terribly thankful. But at the moment, all she really cared about was trying to get out of going to the ball.

They were supposed to leave for Idris in just under an hour, but Charlie still hadn't come up with a way to get out of it. She'd spent all day going back and forth between forcing herself to go and telling her parents she didn't feel well enough to make it this year. She was currently staring at her reflection in her full-sized mirror, resisting the urge to rip off the dress she was wearing. Her aunt Isabelle had helped her pick out her dress for the ball, a short navy blue dress that pinched in at the waist and then floated down around her.

When they'd first picked it out, Charlie had been absolutely in love with it. The dress complimented her figure in just the right way and it wasn't particularly girly, something that Charlie usually looked for in clothes, feeling a bit off every time she tried to dress terribly girly. But now Charlie had more to worry about than when she'd first bought the dress. She'd bought the dress before she'd had another open heart surgery. Now, her scar was much more noticeable than before. Now it was red instead of mostly blending in with her skin.

Charlie reached to brush the scar with her fingertips, her eyes trained on the mirror. The worst part was that the mundane doctors had put surgical glue on the scar since they had use sutures that were inside the body to close the incision. Those sutures would later dissolve, but the glue was a precautionary measure to ensure that the incision wouldn't open back up in any way. Now that she was several days out from surgery, the glue was beginning to peel off of its own accord, looking almost as though the skin itself was peeling off. Charlie had tried her hardest to peel it off herself, but after surgery, every part of her was so sore that peeling it off had proved much too painful.

Her scar had never really bothered her before. It was as much a part of her as runes were a part of other Shadowhunters. But at the moment, it was all Charlie could focus on. She knew she was likely blowing things out of proportion, but it seemed as though the scar was going to be the only thing that anyone could focus on. And now she was supposed to be going to the ball, basically putting herself on display for the entire Shadowhunter community and she couldn't keep herself from worrying about how she looked.

Charlie had been so focused on herself that she hadn't heard the soft knocks that preceded her uncle Simon entering her room. "You ready, kiddo?" he asked as he walked up behind her, placing a very gentle hand on her shoulder. At first, Charlie considered being quite, simply going with her uncle and leaving it at that, but then she realized that that was something she really couldn't do at the moment. She shook her head very slowly, reluctantly locking eyes with her uncle in the mirror. "Why's that?" Simon asked, motioning for her to sit down on her bed with him.

The last thing Charlie had thought of doing all day was voicing her thoughts to absolutely anyone, but suddenly the concern in Uncle Simon's eyes made her realize just how much she really wanted to talk to someone who just might understand. "I don't want to go this year," Charlie said, her voice uncharacteristically soft. She was so rarely ever emotional, rarely out of control of her reactions to absolutely anything that she knew Uncle Simon was probably on the brink of going to get her mother. "By now everyone in Idris has probably heard about my surgery and no one is going to be able to do anything other than stare at my scar the whole time," she continued, highly aware of the fact that her voice sounded frantic. "Not that they don't always stare at me," she finally finished, her voice softening even more when Simon placed a hand over hers.

There was a very long pause before Simon spoke up, but when he finally did speak, his voice held its usual soft, kind tone. "You're worried about what people might think because your scar looks a little worse than it did before? That people might think it's ugly?" he asked, pausing while Charlie nodded her head. "Well trust me when I say this Charlie- I am fairly certain that no one has absolutely ever thought of you as ugly in any way, including in regards to your scar." Charlie tried her best to give her uncle a weak smile, but she knew very well that he could see right through it.

"Have you ever looked at it this way?" Simon asked, shifting his position so that he was facing Charlie more than he had been before. Something in his expression had shifted ever so slightly but Charlie couldn't quite figure out what that was. "Personally, I absolutely love your surgery scar," Simon began, softly smiling as he did so. "It's saved your life more than once, and that's something that I'll never stop being thankful for. If it weren't for that scar, you wouldn't be here right now, and I cannot imagine what our lives would be like without you, Charlotte." Charlie smiled once more, and this time it was a genuine smile. Uncle Simon only ever called her by her full name when he wanted to show just how much he loved her. He had never once used her full name when she was in trouble, and now that Charlie thought about it, she was fairly certain that he did the same thing with Rafael, calling him Rafe for the times when he needed to be stren.

"Your scar is the furthest thing from ugly that I could ever think of," Simon continued, obviously very far from being done. "Sure, there are going to be some people who think it is ugly, but those are the people who aren't going to be worth a second of your time. To me, that scar shows me just how strong you are. The right people are going to realize that your scar makes you a complete badass, and I will not accept anything less than that." Simon gave her hand a gentle squeeze then, his smile only widening. "I'm not saying that you have to go to the ball, but who knows, you might just meet the love of your life there."

Charlie couldn't help but laugh as she got up from the bed, reaching to hug her uncle as tight as she possibly could considering the fact that she was still a bit sore. "You might be a huge nerd sometimes," Charlie said, smiling at her uncle wider than she had in a very long time. "But you really are the best uncle ever," she finished, reaching to pick up the BB-8 necklace Uncle Simon had given her long ago. It had started out as a joke, but now Charlie loved to wear it as often as she could, usually using it to annoy Aunt Isabelle as much as possible.

Charlie followed her uncle out of the room, spirits much higher than they had been just minutes before. "Don't let Uncles Magnus and Alec hear that," Simon whispered in her ear as they turned the corner to see the rest of the family waiting on them. Charlie tried to hide her smile as Uncle Alec gave her a questioning look, his eyes automatically filled with amusement. She softly punched Uncle Simon when he gave her a wink. Charlie braced herself for the impact of the portal and the night that was ahead of them. There was no way it could be as bad as she expected it to be, at least not when she had her family around.

* * *

Getting through the formal part of the night was the worst part of the ball, but Charlie had expected that much. Every year, the Clave had to make a huge deal out of their family, so she'd learned from a very young age to deal with having to sit through all sorts of formal events and meetings. Charlie watched as her parents, aunt, and uncles were abnormally friendly to all of the Clave members, especially those on the Council. In just a few week's time, the Council would be making the final decision on whether or not to change the law that forbid Shadowhunters and Downworlders from being married in a Shadowhunter ceremony, so Charlie was entirely certain that the family was being extremely careful for that very reason.

At the moment, Charlie was seated at a table by herself. The actual celebration had finally begun, and she'd spent as much time as possible dancing with Sophie and George, but she'd finally decided to take a break, unable to ignore how tired she was becoming any longer. She had desperately needed the break, but Charlie took the opportunity to also watch the people around her, watching the way the members of the Council interacted with her family, growing extremely worried about what the outcome of their next meeting was going to be.

"Tired of the party already?" a voice just beside of Charlie asked. Charlie quickly turned around, slightly surprised that someone she didn't know would be coming to talk to her. Yet when Charlie looked up, she was even more surprised by who she saw. She couldn't remember the girl's name, but she certainly remembered the girl herself. Charlie remembered the girl from the last meeting the Council had held because she hadn't been able to take her eyes off of the other girl. The girl had long blond hair and piercing blue eyes, and she was smiling one of the prettiest smiles Charlie had ever seen. "I'm Serena, by the way," she finished as she sat down directly across from Charlie. "Serena Starkweather."

Charlie smiled back at Serena, trying to keep from giving away the fact that she absolutely loved the deep red dress that the other girl was wearing. "Charlie Herondale," she replied, trying her hardest to ignore her father's very blatant stare and the fact that everyone in the room already knew who she was. "And sometimes George just parties a little too hard for me," she finished, this time leaving off George's last name, knowing that Serena would know who she was referring to. Charlie held back a groan when she saw her father coming their way, knowing exactly what he was about to do before he even sat down.

"Jace Herondale," he said, as he took a seat beside of Charlie, resting his hands on the table in a way that said he meant business. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he finished, and Charlie resisted the urge to tell him that he hadn't really met Serena yet. She met Serena's eyes across the table, trying to apologize to her without saying a word. She could see the amusement in Serena's eyes, and for a moment, she was terribly thankful that the other girl hadn't taken offense to what Jace was currently doing.

When Charlie realized that Uncle Alec was also headed their way, she couldn't keep herself from audibly groaning. But then Uncle Alec leaned down beside her father and Charlie couldn't keep herself from bursting into laughter at what her uncle was saying. "May I have this dance?" Alec said, clearly speaking to Jace in a terribly absurd way. Jace turned to look at Alec as if his parabatai had very suddenly gone absolutely insane. "Oh come on, Jace," Alec said when Jace didn't answer him. "You promised me a dance last year and somehow you wormed your way out of it, but not this year. Get your butt on the dance floor and stop depriving your parabatai of his one wish." Charlie resisted the urge to tell her father that he'd gotten what was coming to him as Alec looked back to wink at her when he shoved Jace out onto the dance floor.

Charlie turned back to Serena, beyond pleased the see the very wide smile on Serena's face. Almost unbelievably to her, they spent the next hour talking to one another in such a comfortable way that Charlie began to wonder how it was actually happening. Over the years, she'd come to expect that the ball would be terribly boring, but it seemed as though this year was going to be quite the opposite. She wasn't surprised to learn that Serena had grown up in Idris, training at the Academy in the way that most Shadowhunters did these days. She was surprised, however, when Serena told her that she was taking part in the new training program that had been implemented by the Clave.

The very next week, they would be welcoming several more young Shadowhunters at the Institute, Shadowhunters who were some of the best in their age groups who were to be trained by her father and Uncle Alec. Charlie couldn't hide her smile when Serena mentioned that she was one of the few who would be arriving at the Institute in just a few day's time. "I guess we'll be seeing each other soon, then," Charlie said, trying her hardest to keep her cool as she got up to leave, unable to keep from wondering what was going to come of this new training program, unable to keep from hoping that her uncle Simon had been incredibly correct in what he'd said to her just hours before.


End file.
